Hello readers! I feel like my last few posts have all started by saying “Sorry it’s been so long since my last post” or something like that. Writing is something I love to do but often have trouble fitting into my days. As a result, I always end up having big gaps in between posts. That’s something I have to work on.
Grady is doing fine and celebrated his 23rd birthday on January 31st. I had been working on the next part of his story but for the majority of the past year, my energy was directed more towards Grady’s canine “brother”, Benjamin.
In 2014, my husband, Gary and I were looking to adopt a male chocolate lab. One night, while researching Petfinder.com, Gary began the process of filling out some forms. I can’t remember if there was a specific dog in mind or not, but it got late, and Gary decided he would complete the forms the next morning. However, his computer performed an automatic update and restarted, losing the application that he had filled out the night before. Just as he was getting ready to start filling out the form again, his mother called. She had a friend who knew a breeder who just had a litter of labs and there was one chocolate male. It was meant to be. Eight weeks later, that little bundle became our Benjamin.
Ben was very high-energy and incredibly intelligent. He would look at you with such intensity in his eyes and you’d swear you could hear what he was thinking. He loved to catch tennis balls and he adopted a soft pink frisbee as one of his all-time favorite toys. He loved to carry it around in his mouth, even when we weren’t playing catch.
Ben loved the snow and would dig in it until he almost disappeared. When it was piled high, he would climb to the top and look around like he was king of the mountain.
He also loved to swim. He had a chocolate lab friend with a pool and they loved to swim together. Ben would refuse to get out of the pool, even when I thought he’d had enough. He would approach the stairs and then, just as I would reach to get him, he would twirl around for another lap. I called him Michael Phelps.
When we tried dock diving, Ben was so excited to jump in the water, we had to hold him back as we threw his toy and then, like a loaded spring he ran down the dock and leaped in with no hesitation.
He also had the same enthusiasm when we arrived at his agility lessons. He would whimper and shriek until we let him onto the course and then he would usually make a beeline for the A-frame and go up and down before we could get him to focus on doing the course in order.
Ben had so many little games he invented and ways about him – too many to list here – but to say he was a special individual is an understatement. Ben was extraordinary.
In April of 2023, we heard about OncoK9, an early-detection cancer test for dogs. Since Benjamin was 9 years old and fit the criteria for testing, we decided to do the test. He had absolutely no symptoms and we thought we were doing it just as a precaution, so we were totally shocked when it came back “cancer signal detected”.
The test doesn’t tell the exact cancer that is detected, but it does suggest the next steps that should be taken. In Ben’s case, chest x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound were recommended. These tests revealed Hemangiosarcoma in his spleen. Hemangiosarcoma is a very aggressive cancer of the blood vessels with a poor prognosis. Surgery to remove his spleen was scheduled and once he recovered from that, Ben would undergo 5 rounds of chemotherapy 3 weeks apart. He tolerated the treatments pretty well, although after his fourth treatment, he became very ill. His gastrointestinal tract had basically shut down and he ended up being hospitalized for almost a week. We were terrified that we were going to lose him at that point, but he rallied and ultimately bounced back to his old self. The final treatment went much better, but an ultrasound revealed that he still had some nodules in his abdomen which suggested metastasis.
He continued treatment on low-dose oral chemo pills and some homeopathic supplements and had no idea that anything was wrong with him. We were even able to take him on a trip to Cape Cod for some well-deserved fun.
Most of the time, when a dog receives this diagnosis, it is because they are showing symptoms or a tumor ruptures causing internal bleeding and their survival time is short. Because of the OncoK9 test, we caught it very early which bought us more time. Not as much time as we had hoped but we did get nine more months with him.
By the end of the year, the cancer had caused severe anemia and it was getting to the point where he was not feeling well and we had to do a blood transfusion. That helped for a little while but not long enough and his red blood cell count dropped again. His appetite had decreased and he was very picky about what he would eat. We knew we were running out of time, but other than his poor appetite and slight lethargy, Ben was still Ben and he wasn’t ready to go.
We were faced with the decision of whether to do another transfusion. On one hand, it felt selfish to put him through it, but on the other hand, if it gave us some more time together then maybe it was worth trying. So we did.
Another transfusion meant another couple of nights at the hospital. When we visited him, he was happy to see us but was very tired. I had some moments of guilt and regret as we snuggled with him, but I was thankful to still be able to hug him and kiss his soft, furry head. The next day when we picked him up, he was more perky and what ended up being our last evening with him was filled with lots of snuggles and love.
The next morning it was clear that Ben was losing the battle and we couldn’t let him go on. He fought so hard for so long and was so brave through it all. I was thankful for the snow that had fallen so he had a chance to lie in it and eat it like he always loved to do. I was thankful for all the fun things we had done together, even though I felt like we weren’t done and it was too soon. I was really hoping Ben would make it to his 10th birthday but it was not to be.
Today – March 9, 2024 – is Ben’s 10th birthday and he’s been gone for almost two months. So now it’s time to celebrate his life so that all the wonderful memories will eventually bring smiles instead of tears.
Happy Birthday Benjamin. We miss you, we love you and you will never be forgotten.
